Posts Tagged ‘Hunter’
Alone Again
It has happened enough that you’d think I would be used to it by now, but it’s different for me since we added horses. Cyndie is traveling out of town for work for a few days and I am alone again to tend to the animals. As if being responsible for the horses wasn’t enough, one of our cats, Mozyr, is showing new signs of some kind of illness. Before Cyndie left yesterday, she cleaned up some of his messes and then we went down and pulled the blankets off the horses. It is going to be above zero around here for a while!
It took some coaxing, but Legacy eventually allowed me to aggressively scratch his neck and shoulders after we removed his blanket. Cyndie warmed him up to the idea when she began massaging his aura about a foot away from his body. Shortly after letting me into his space to scratch him, he took an obvious step in and turned to provide me better access. A definite invitation.
I wandered back down to see the horses after they had eaten their evening feed, to take some pictures of them without blankets on. The girls were hanging out by the hay and the boys were both uphill from them.
Cayenne & Dezirea
Legacy
Hunter
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At bedtime, when I came out of the bathroom after brushing my teeth, I spotted Mozyr using the litter box we brought upstairs for him. That’s progress! After that, he wandered into the bathroom for a drink of water from the dish we keep there. Next, he took a few bites from the dry food, and then the canned food that I had put out at dinner time. These are all good signs. The night before, he appeared to have shut down completely, and then yesterday morning he seemed worse, and was messing himself and lying in it.
We probably would have rushed to the vet if Cyndie wasn’t headed out of town. I suppose I talked her out of it when I pointed out that we won’t spend money on treatments if there is something drastically wrong with him, so we may as well wait a day to see if he can shake it on his own. He is under close observation by me, and so far, things seem to be headed in the right direction.
Since I am alone, I’m hoping that’s the only direction things go for the next few days.
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January Warmth
We heard temperatures would get above freezing on Sunday, but didn’t expect it to rise into the 40s! Cyndie came up to the house after feeding the horses in the morning, and reported how nice it felt outside, as she grabbed a toy for Delilah and went back out to play.
When I peeked out at them, I found Cyndie on her hands and knees, coaxing Delilah in a game as she crawled toward her. I went right for the camera, because they looked too cute together to resist.
The horses have been free of blankets for 2-days now, and they looked very comfortable with the relatively warm afternoon breeze we were experiencing.
With Elysa over for a visit, we re-inflated the big red ball, sealed it with a borrowed plug, and took it out to see if the horses wanted to play. It was the time of day when I would usually find them laying down for a nap, but they showed some initial interest.
It took a bit for them to figure out what the attention was for, taking turns scouting for treats, checking the ball, and investigating why Cyndie and Elysa were inside the fence with them. Then all of a sudden Hunter began pushing the ball with his nose, picking up speed and running up the hill of the big field. I was watching it all from a distance, and the sight of him playing with such gusto, and doing so all by himself, triggered an involuntary guffaw. It was a fabulous sight.
After that, despite several attempts, and eventually my joining them in the pasture to try enticing more energetic interaction with the ball, there were no further runs. Legacy’s only interest seemed to be in getting a grip of the plug with his teeth. I think it is safe to bet that he was the culprit in pulling the plug the first time I put the ball out for them. At least now we know better than to leave it with them unsupervised. We took the ball back to the barn and allowed them to resume their willful idleness.
For the first time since this season’s snow first fell back in early December, our front steps are clear and dry. That first precipitation started with a freezing rain that turned to snow and was then followed by a significant drop in temperature. We were never able to completely clear the front steps of that ice before each additional snowfall added to the mess. Some days it was interfering with our ability to close the storm door. Yesterday, I was finally able to completely scrape off the accumulated ice.
Thank goodness for the annual January thaw.
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Lovely Lips
It looks like Legacy has tried to apply some red lipstick, but it is just the result of what we have come to call our “horse-sicles.” Cyndie found a recipe that involves cutting up fruit, carrots, and celery and putting it in sugar-water that has some food coloring added, and then freezing it.
The first time we set some out, they gobbled them up overnight, and we didn’t have much chance to witness them enjoying the treats, so we have been saving the last two for a time when we could hang around and watch. Legacy was the only one inside the paddocks when we showed up, and the three chestnuts were happy where they were at in the big field, so he got first shot at the fruity-sweet popsicles all by himself.
We pulled up chairs and spent a little time lounging in the bright winter daylight of the cloudy afternoon, amid sprinkles of light falling snowflakes, and watched Legs savor the sweetness.
Earlier in the day, we had taken all 4 horses out at the same time for a walk through our woods. It is the first time since the horses arrived here that we have had enough experienced horse handlers available to do this. It was a challenge to walk in the snow, but the horses all behaved well and nobody got spooked, which is a testament to the handlers all remaining calm and projecting a confidence that communicated everything was safe and under control.
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I was the least experienced one of the bunch, and after leading Legacy out, Cyndie switched me off to get some pictures of everyone, and Jose took over the lead with Legs, Cyndie was with Hunter, Marco Sr. had Cayenne, and Dunia walked with Dezirea. After a switch, I ended up with Hunter and was able to experience the cooperative communication of being in charge of such a large animal who could easily toss me aside and do what he pleases.
After heading toward the labyrinth and then doing a loop through the woods, we strolled past Delilah’s kennel and she quietly and (mostly) calmly stood at her door watching the parade pass by. We then headed back down the hill and returned to the big field where we removed their harnesses after the gate was latched. Three of the four then proceeded to lay down and roll in the snow for a little bath.
We enjoyed a spectacular winter day with the horses, continuing to fulfill visions we had when news first arrived that the Morales family could come from Guatemala to visit us here over the holidays. We are feeling truly and richly blessed!
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Animals Update
I feel like the horses have been getting short shrift of air time here lately, probably due to the severe winter weather we’ve been enduring of late. Most days it is all business down at the barn, getting hay and feed distributed before my exposed flesh starts getting burned by the cold air. Pulling out the camera in the cold and dark just doesn’t seem to happen. Of course, the fact that the flash quit working on my favorite pocket camera might have a little to do with that.
I did recently snap this shot at dusk, prior to entering the barn to feed them. That is Cayenne in front of Legacy, and if you look close, you can see Hunter peeking out from the edge of the overhang of the barn. Legacy has played hard-to-get when we attempt to adjust his blanket and I’m beginning to think that he thinks it looks cool that way. He reminds me of a teenager who wears his ball cap sideways or lets his pants hang low.
They seem to be doing well despite the harsh conditions. It is such a treat to watch them when they are prancing and dancing around in the snow. We haven’t been picking up after them in the paddocks as diligently as we used to, and now the snow is covering a lot of their piles of manure, so I have resigned myself to it being a muddy, wet manure mess out there when spring finally rolls around.
Meanwhile, I have been having a lot more interaction with Delilah during the time I’ve been home during the week. Since it was so cold, I let her stay indoors with me, and since the cats just sleep on the bed all day, I put up a gate to the bedroom and then give Delilah freedom to move around the house.
We have developed a game of chase in the house where I run after her in laps around the spiral staircase. Last night, she even initiated the game and invited me to chase her around past the kitchen counter, in front of the fireplace, back to the kitchen, around and around again. I run as fast as I can, pushing her to work hard, but I run out of breath well before she tires of the game.
I tried to get her to wear boots that Cyndie bought for her feet, and she was very nice to let me get all 4 of them on her before we went out on the coldest day. After I got her ready, I still had to get my boots and coat on, and she stood totally still while I got ready. I think she was freaked out about trying to walk in them. When I was ready, it took some coaxing to get her to move, and then she clop, clop, clopped her way to the door.
Outside, she instantly appeared to be trying to run out of them, and it didn’t take her long to succeed. I thought it was nice of her to try, but I am guessing they won’t get much use beyond that first attempt.
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October Cold
It doesn’t always work to compare one year with the next, and I was doing just that last week, as we approached the 1-year anniversary of moving to this fabulous property in Beldenville, WI. A few days after we arrived last year, the temperatures were warm and we cooked dinner outdoors over the fire, then went to sleep with our bedroom window open.
Yesterday, I went outside with my usual work gloves on and rather quickly discovered they were now insufficient. It is time for insulated gloves again. I assumed the air temperature would warm up as the day went on, but it seemed to just get colder. Clouds blocked the sun most of the time, giving the day a classic cold October look. I ended up involved in more outdoor activity than I really wanted, and my body started to absorb the chill as the hours accumulated. Snow fell on and off, occasionally dense enough to start to collect on surfaces.
There is something to the adjustment of our bodies to the environment, and in October, temperatures in the neighborhood of freezing feel painfully more cold than they do in March. Yesterday the outdoors were harsh and bitterly uncomfortable. In 5 months, the same temperatures will have us opening our coats and basking in the relief from the deep freeze.
The horses have started to grow out their thicker winter coat of hair, but it isn’t quite full yet, and the cold rain in October gets right through to their skin. We brought them into the barn on Sunday because they were shivering.
Last week, before the rain, Hunter showed up with a mud mask on. It looked like he was getting ready for Halloween at the end of the month. I wish I could have seen him in action when he did it. The finished product looks so perfectly applied that I’m thinking he had a mirror or something. Probably, he was trying to improve the insulating value on himself, in preparation for the October chill that felt so wicked out there yesterday.
Not Proud
Out of respect for the whole truth, I must report that it isn’t always sunshine-happy-roses here at Wintervale, despite all my blissful stories. Yesterday afternoon, Cyndie got out of her car after work, hobbling on a sprained ankle. She reported that it happened as she was squeezing out time before work that she didn’t really have, trying to walk Delilah one last time before leaving. Delilah ran off with gusto, pulling Cyndie off-balance.
With me trying to help out, doing more of the walking chores, we headed down to the barn to invite the horses into the paddock for their evening grain. I don’t know where he had been rolling, but Hunter arrived with dirt covering him, head to hoof. He was an absolute mess. Regardless the hindrance of her painful sprain, Cyndie wanted to try to clean him up. She worked her way into the paddock, with brushes and cleaning supplies.
He wasn’t interested.
She turned to Legacy, who had a fair amount of dirt on his back, giving him the option of being groomed. He didn’t seem to want to hang around, either. As we stood at the gate, after exiting, Legacy appeared to want to give us one last message. He presented his backside and lifted his tail. Message received.
We left the sorry-looking geldings to strut their muddy body art.
I dropped Cyndie off at the house and headed around back to retrieve Delilah from her kennel. Yes, she is still behaving like a puppy, despite our impression that she should be beyond portions of it now. For the second time in three days, she has ripped and de-stuffed articles of bedding. I found her insulated blanket torn open and puffs of white stuffing spread all over the place. It is so frustrating, especially when she presents such an obvious look pride for her “accomplishment.”
On Saturday, Delilah was confined to her crate in the house, while we entertained guests. She made quick work of the bed Cyndie had tossed in there while cleaning. Ever so quietly, Delilah pulled the green stuffing out of it to surround herself, before lying down to nap.
Shortly after coming inside with Delilah yesterday, as I brought a cold pack for Cyndie’s ankle, while she propped her foot up in the living room, I stepped in a pile of poop Delilah had covertly dropped on the rug the day before. That afternoon was when Elysa was over, and both she and I smelled something, but weren’t wily enough to follow our noses to the source. Discovery was delayed for 24 hours.
Maybe we can blame Delilah for all the flies in the house. There has been an epic population explosion of flies around here this summer, and now that we have an unending supply of manure, the flies are thicker than ever. With Cyndie on the couch, pointing them out, I swatted at flies in a fruitless effort to curb the infestation.
This was not one of our proudest days.
Relative Something 